Hi James, very good point here about some access key combinations
interfering with the browser such as alt and d for address bar. I also
think Access keys work well in the BBC radio player but think they can be
badly designed sometimes on other sites.
Donna
----- Original Message -----
From: "James O'Dell" <jamesodell@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 11:29 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Access Keys on Web Sites
Hi Léonie
Whether or not I use access keys very much depends on the design of the website, the specific keys that have been implemented, and how frequently I use the site. They are very useful, for example, in the BBC Radio player, providing quick access to audio controls. however, there are other websites (can't think of too many examples off the top of my head) that implement them very badly. I saw one the other day that had the links in the navigation menu set up with Alt+a, Alt+B, Alt+C and alt+D etc, and these keys did not reflect the initial letters of the file names, and obviously the keys aren't next to each other physically on the keyboard, so the whole thing was very difficult to work with. I think it is better to use numbers as access keys, as letter combinations can conflict with and take precedence over browser commands (Alt +D to access the address bar in IE) and prevent quick access to browser menus (Alt+F for the file menu). Also, with screenreader searching commands, lists of links and controls etc that are available in the high-end screen readers, access keys are often unnecessary. at least a given user can expect consistent results when using screen reader commands, rather than relying on the web author to have done their job properly.
So basically I think they are a useful addition for speeding up navigation on a website once I am familiar with it, but I wouldn't use them on a site I didn't use that often, as I prefer to explore for myself and would probably struggle to remember them all anyway (do I press Alt+G for Go or Alt+S for search/submit?). In my view they should never be the only means by which visually impaired people can navigate a site.
James
----- Original Message ----- From: "Léonie Watson" <tink@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Access UK" <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 8:41 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Access Keys on Web Sites
Good evening,
Please forgive the cross post, but I wanted to reach the widest audience in the most efficient way.
I'd like to hear from as many people as possible, with your response to a very simple question.
Do you use access keys when they are available on a web site?
For those of you unfamiliar with Access Keys, they are the keyboard
shortcuts which use the alt key in combination with another key, to take the
focus to a given link on a page. You hear them announced in conjunction wit
the link text. For example, "Home page alt + h". In this example, pressing
the "alt h" key combination would either move you to the home page link, or
activate the home page link, depending on the kind of browser you're using.
I hope this makes sense. There is quite a debate raging over these Access Keys, with a great many people speaking out for the way visually impaired people do or don't use them. I'd very much like to represent the voice of real people, so please give me something to work with and let me know your opinions.
As always, thank you for your help.
Regards, Tink.
-- http://www.tink.co.uk/
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